Ring guard and sizing device



March 8, 1966 FIG-1 I6 77 20 "u I 72 h t! g, r l i 7 i T l 26 R. w.JOHNSON 3,238,741

RING GUARD AND SIZING DEVICE Filed May 15, 1963 FIG"? 57 32 36 INVENTOR.RICHARD W. JOHNSON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,238,741 RING GUARDAND SIZING DEVICE Richard W. Johnson, 916 Kent Lane, Troy, Ohio FiledMay 13, 1963, Ser. No. 279,802 7 Claims. (Cl. 6315.6)

The present invention relates to an attachment for selectively varyingthe inside dimensions of finger rings.

In the use of commemorative or ornamental rings worn on the hands ofindividuals, it is often desired to change the size of thefinger-encircling portion of the ring, commonly referred to as theshank. In many instances it is desired that the inside dimensions of thering shank be only slightly reduced, primarily to prevent the ringsslipping from the finger of the wearer, in which case the attachment isgenerally denominated as a ring guard. In many other instances however,particularly where a ring with a relatively large finger opening is tobe worn only temporarily by a person having a much smaller finger, it isdesired substantially to reduce the inside dimensions of the shank. Insuch cases the size reduction is again employed to prevent ring slippagebut it is at the same time quite important from the standpoints ofappearance and comfort. Since the attachment of the present invention iscapable of achieving either nominal or substantial dimension changes, itis useful and might be designated either as a ring guard or as a ringsizer; but it is in the area of substantial dimensional changes thatadditional problems are encountered; and it is in their function as ringsizers that the teachings herein are perhaps most valuable.

In the prior art, a variety of ring attachments have been employed forthe above purposes, but all have been characterized by attaching orclamping means which have presented scams or joints either on theexterior of the ring where they detract from appearance and tend tocat-ch or snag clothing, or on the finger-contacting inner portion ofthe shank where they cause discomfort and often blisters or otherlesions on the finger of the wearer. In addition to these problems andparticularly in the case of sizing attachments involving substantialdimensional changes, the devices of the prior art have lacked sufficientstrength and durability to preserve a particular size, once it has beenestablished, and to insure that the attachment will remain clamped to orotherwise associated with the ring. Similarly, where substantial sizechanges are effected, the prior art devices have allowed the ring torotate so that the decorative portion thereof is not always where itbelongs.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide animproved ring guard or ring-sizing attachment.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide such an attachmentwhich may be securely and relatively permanently attached to a ring topreserve an effective inside dimension thereof.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide such an attachmentwherein the clamping means will not present seams or joints to theexterior of the ring where they might catch in clothing or the like orirritate the skin on the fingers adjoining that on which the ring isworn.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such an attachmentwhich will not present scams or joints which will injure or cause painto the finger about which the ring is worn.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a sizing attachmentwhich may accomplish substantial changes in inside dimensions of afinger ring without interfering with the strength and dimensionalstability of the attachment or the permanence of its association withthe ring.

Patented Mar. 8, 1966 "ice Yet another object of the invention is toprovide such an attachment which can be easily adjusted to provide arelatively broad range of different finger opening sizes.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide such an attachmentwhich may be economically manufactured and conveniently applied to agreat variety of different rings.

These and other objects and advantages which will be apparent from areading of the following disclosure are achieved by the provision of astrip of metal or similar material having a bridge or shank-spanningportion defined by a fold or reverse bend at each end thereof andadjacent to or bearing against the inner surfaces of the ring shank atopposite points on the sides thereof. Extending at various lengths fromand beyond said folds or bends are clamping extensions of said strip,designed to bear against the inner face of the ring shank at pointswhich are removed by the bridge portion from contact with the finger ofthe wearer. Such extensions are then provided with ears or tabs whichare so positioned and dimensioned that they may encircle the ring shankin clamping relationship and terminate in a joint or seam along theinterior of the ring shank, but once again, separated from the finger ofthe wearer by the bridge portion, thereby avoiding all of the seam orjoint objections of the prior art.

In a modification of this invention particularly adapted to substantialsize changes, the clamping extensions of the strip member are of such alength beyond the folds at the ends of the bridge portion that they abutor overlap at the bottom of the shank; and a tab is associated with oneof said extensions at the end thereof which is of sufiicient lengthcompletely to embrace both the ring shank and the other extension at thepoint of their abutment or overlapping. This additional clamping of thedevice to the ring shank, at or near the bottom thereof, not onlysecures the position of the device within the circumference of the shankagainst deformation under radial forces, but also holds the sizing unitagainst displacement under axial forces such as when the finger isslipped into the ring. Because this third clamp is, like the first twoclamps above described, separated from the finger of the wearer by thebridge portion, the seam or joint may be along the interior of the ringshank without causing any injury or discomfort to the wearer. On theother hand, since this third clamping means at the bottom of the ring isin a position where the hand more or less protects it from contact withclothing or the like or from observation, it is not so important thatthe joint be on the inside of the shank. Thus, according to onemodification hereof, the joint of this third clamp may be exposed to theexterior of the shank for ready access.

A further modification of this invention involves bends at the ends ofthe bridge portion which are characterized by a break in the strip at apoint removed from the inner surface of the shank and an upwardlyinclined leg therefrom to the point where the strip is reversely bent toextend downwardly along the inner surface of the shank. In thismodification, and particularly where the upwardly extending leg forms atleast a thirty degree angle with the downwardly extending portion of thebend, it has been found that the forces exerted upon the attachment bythe finger of the wearer will tend to improve the permanence of theclamping association between the device and the ring and will at thesame time prevent rota tion of the ring on the finger.

The invention thus generally described may be more clearly understood byreference to the following detailed descriptions of certain preferredembodiments thereof in connection with which reference may be had to theappended drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a blank or strip member with which to form aring sizing device according to one modification of this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the intermediately formed stage of theblank of FIGURE 1 in condition to be associated with a ring.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the blank of FIG- URES 1 and 2associated with a ring.

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view of the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of a modification of the strip illustrated inFIGURE 1.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the strip illustrated in FIGURE 5associated with a ring.

FIGURE 7 is a cross sectional view on the line 77 of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is still another modification of a strip for forming a ringguard according to the present invention.

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of the strip of FIG- URE 8 intermediatelyformed for application to a ring.

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of the strip of FIG- URES 8 and 9associated with a ring.

FIGURE 11 is a cross sectional view on the line 1111 of FIGURE 10.

Reference to FIGURES 3, 6 and 10 will disclose that a commemorative orornamental ring of the type considered by the present inventioncomprises a basic combination of a setting or decorative portion 10associated with the finger-encircling shank portion 11, the latter beinggenerally in the form of a cylindrical shell or band. It is with thisshank portion 11 that a ring guard or sizing device of the presentinvention is associated, selectively to change the effective dimensionsof the finger-receiving area within the shank and adjacent the settingportion.

As illustrated in FIGURE 1, one form of device according to thisinvention comprises a strip or blank 12 for-med of a metal such as gold,silver, or a sheet of mate rial having metal-like qualities by a varietyof well known cutting or stamping techniques. Three-quarters-hard goldor gold filled or gold plated nickel or related base is particularlysuitable for the devices of this invention. As illustrated in FIGURE 1the blank may, in the first instance, be in planar form and bethereafter bent or shaped to the intermediate stage illustrated inFIGURE 2 preparatory to its association with the ring as illustrated inFIGURES 3 and 4. The strip 12 comprises the centrally positionedelongated bridge or shank-spanning portion 13, extending beyond each endof which are the clamping extensions 14 and 15 from which project theclamping ears or tabs 16 and 17. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE1 the clamping extensions are further extended by the portions 18 and19, at the end of one of which is associated an additional clamping tab20. While the clamping tabs such as 16, 17 and are shown to be disposedat right angles to the elongated bridge portion and the clampingextensions thereof, a variation in this angularity on the order of up tofive degrees from a right angle may be utilized. While there is no cleardistinction between the bridge member 13 and the extensions 14, 15, 18and 19 when the blank is in its planar state, the bridge portion isdefined and segregated by the reverse bends or folds 21 and 22 (asillustdated in FIGURES 2 and 3) when the blank is intermediately formed.

As illustrated in FIGURE 2, this intermediate formation of the reversebends 21 and 22 leaves the bridge portion therebetween in such positionthat, when the device is associated with the ring as shown in FIGURE 3,the bridge will span the interior of the shank while the bendsthemselves will be adjacent opposite sides thereof, as a result of whichthe upper portion of the ring and the bridge member 13 will provide afinger opening of a diameter substantially less than that of the ringproper. The clamping tabs 16 and 17 are positioned exteriorly of ortoward the ends of the strip 12 from the bridge portion as it is definedby the bends 21 and 22 with the result that they will be held by thebridge away from the finger inserted in the reduced opening.Consequently, the tabs may be folded or formed tightly about the ringshank, cla-mpingly to embrace the same and may be of such a length thatwhen they are so formed, the free end thereof will lie against theinterior of the shank surface.

To provide even greater firmness of association between the sizing unitand the ring shank, the strip unit is so dimensioned that the additionalextensions 18 and 19, when the unit is within the ring shank, willterminate overlapping ends and the clamping tab 20 at one of these ends19 may therefore be formed to clampingly embrace not only the ring shank11 but also the overlapping portion of the other extension 18. Onceagain of course the bridge 13 Will protect the finger of the wearer fromany contact with the clamping tab 20 or the end or seam thereof. Whilethis protection is that the nature and location of the seam of the tabsis not critical from the standpoint of the comfort of the wearer, thegeneral appearance of the assembly may be enhanced by providing therecesses 24, 25 and 26 along the strip 12 at the edge thereof oppositethat from which the tabs project. In such cases, the length of the tabmay then be adjusted, by end cutting upon application to the ring forexample, so that when the tabs tightly embrace the shank, their endsWill terminate at and rest Within these recesses 24, 25 and 26 in themated relation illustrated at 27 in FIG- URES 3 and 4.

Because the third clamping tab, i. e., the tab such as 20 encirclingboth the ring shank and the overlapping extension of the other end ofthe strip, is at the bottom of the ring shank substantiallydiametrically opposite the setting and is therefore substantiallycovered by the fleshy portion of the hand at the point at which thefinger joins the same, it is sometimes considered not essential that theend of this particular tab open or lie interiorly of the shank.Moreover, since it is this third tab which finally and, for allpractical purposes, permanently fixes the position of the sizing unit onthe ring and thereby the effective size of the finger opening, it issometimes desired that this particular clamp be more accessible to beingopened where, for example it might be desired from time to time tochange the effective dimensions of the finger opening. In such cases anembodiment similar to that illustrated in FIGURES 5, 6, and 7 may beemployed wherein a strip member 23 comprises the bridge portion 29, theextensions 30 and 31 and the additional extensions 32 and 33 as well asthe clamping tabs 34 and 35, all arranged and manipulated according tothe embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 4. The third clampingtab 36 at the end of the second extension 33 however, instead ofprojecting only from one side of the strip as does the tab 20 of FIGURE1, extends from both sides of the strip in T fashion. As seen in FIGURES6 and 7, when extension 33 with this tab 36 is in overlappingrelationship with the extension 32, the tab may then be bent around bothsides of the extension 32 and the ring shank to form an abutting jointor seam 39 exteriorly of the ring surface.

Where the nature of the bend or fold at the extremities of the bridgeportion conforms to the particular modification illustrated in FIGURES 8through 11, unexpected and unobvious result has been that the permanenceof the clamping association between the sizing unit and the ring and thestability of the ring on the finger of a wearer may be quitesatisfactorily maintained even though the third clamping means at thebottom of the ring are eliminated. In this embodiment, it will beobserved that the strip member 40 comprises only the bridge portion 41,the clamping extensions 42 and 43 and the tabs 44 and 45 which extendangularly from the ends of the clamping extensions. In the manner of theabove embodiments however, this strip, preparatory to being applied to aring, is preformed by the provision of the first bends 46 and 47 whichdefine the beginning of the clamping extensions 42 and 43 and separatethem and the tabs 44 and 45 thereon from the bridge 41 and from thefinger which will rest against the bridge, While the tabs 44 and 45 mayboth project in the same direction or from the same edge of the strip40, it has been found that economies in the formation of multiple stripsfrom a blank sheet of metal may be achieved where the tabs in factproject from opposite sides of the strip as illustrated in FIGURE 8. Inthis manner, successive blanks may be cut from the same sheet withoutsubstantial scrap since one strip will be considered as nested againstthe strip subsequently to be cut from the sheet. At the same time theprojection from different edges of the elongated strip 41 will result inonly the nominal difference from one side to the other of the ring thatthe joint 48 formed by the end of the tab 44 will be near one side ofthe ring whereas that at 49 formed by the end of the tab 45 will be atthe other side of the ring. Once again, because these joints are removedfrom the finger of the wearer by the bridge 41, this nominal change isof no significance.

In applying any of the above described ring sizers or ring guards to aring, they are first preformed manually or in a suitable press to theshapes as illustrated in FIG- URES 2 and 9 and are then applied to thering by slipping the shank thereof into the open grooves provided by thetabs. The tabs may thereupon be loosely clamped about the ring shank andthe assembly then either placed upon the finger of the person who is towear the same or upon a conventional sizing stick to the proper sizewhereupon the transversely opposed clamps may be tightly fastened andthe third clamp, if any, may be tightened around the shank and theextension of the other end of the strip. In this final sizing operationthe bends at the extremities of the bridge portion play an additionaland an important part in establishing the size of the finger opening andinsuring a comfortable fit. As will be seen from a comparison of therings in FIGURES 3, 6 and 10, the angle of the bends and the length ofthe strip involved therein may be changed. In the first instance, itwill be observed that the bends are so located that they are adjacentthe inner shank surface so that the finger opening is completelyenclosed by a substantially continuous surface which is free of anysharp edges or the like. At the same time, the length of the portion ofthe bridge which is involved in the fold and lies against the clampingextension of the strip may be easily varied with the result that, themore of the strip that is consumed in the bend, the less bridge lengththere will be to span the ring shank thereby resulting in an effectivelyreduced finger opening dimension. Moreover, the resilience of themetallic material involved in the bend allows a certain displacement ofthe bridge as the ring is applied to the finger whereupon the elasticityof the attachment will cause the bridge to return to resilient contactwith the finger.

Where additional strength and clamping permanency is required, as isparticularly the case in the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 8 through11 wherein the third clamping means are eliminated, the same may beprovided by modifying the folds 46 and 47 in the manner illustrated. Itwill be observed in FIGURES 9 and 10 that the folds commence at a breaksuch as 50 and 51. which are transverse lines at which there is arelatively abrupt change in the curvature of the strip of which thebridge is composed. In this modification, when the ring is finaly sizedand the attachment is finally clamped upon the ring shank, these breaks50 and 51 are spaced from the shank of the ring. Upwardly from thebreaks so positioned project the legs 52 and 53 terminating in the foldsor reverse bends 46 and 47. The final arrangement of the parts is thenpreferably such that the spacing of the breaks from the shank requiresthat the upwardly projecting legs 52 and 53 be disposed to the clampingextensions projecting downwardly from the folds 46 and 47 at an angle Awithin the range of from thirty degrees to sixty degrees. Such anattachment has been found capable of supplying substantial size changeswhile still preventing rotation of the ring as it is being Worn.

While the invention has been described above in considerable detail inconnection with certain preferred embodiments, it is to be understoodthat the foregoing particularlization and detail have been for thepurposes of illustration only and do not limit the scope of theinvention as it is defined in the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with the shank of a finger ring of a sizing devicecomprising an elongated continuous strip having a central bridge portionspanning the aperture of said shank, a reverse bend at each end of saidbridge portion, a clamping extension beyond each of said bends, and atab angularly projecting from each of said extensions, wherein saidbends are adjacent the inner surface of the ring shank at generallyopposite points thereon, said clamping extensions bearing against theinner surface of the ring shank and said tabs encircling the ring shankin fixed clamping relation thereto beneath the bridge portion.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said reverse bends commence atbreaks on said elongated bridge portion which are spaced from theinterior surface of the ring shank.

3. A device according to claim 1 wherein a second extension projectslinearly from each of said clamping extensions beyond each of said tabsand along the inner surface of the ring shank to contact each other.

4. A device according to claim 3 wherein one of said second extensionsis provided at its end with an angularly projecting third clamping tabencircling said ring shank and the extremity of the other of said secondextensions.

5. A device according to claim 4 wherein said third clamping tabprojects from the same side of said one second extension as do the otherclamping tabs.

6. A device according to claim 4 wherein said third clamping tabprojects from both edges of said one second extension.

7. A ring sizing attachment to be employed in combination with a fingerring comprising an elongated continuous strip having a central bridgeportion spanning the aperture of said shank, a reverse bend at each endof said bridge portion, a clamping extension beyond each of said bends,and a tab angularly projecting from each of said extensions, whereinsaid bends are adjacent to the inner surface of the ring shank atgenerally opposite points thereon, said clamping extensions bearingagainst the inner surface of said ring shank beneath the bridge portionand said tabs encircling the ring shank and terminating along the innersurface thereof between said bridge portion and said inner surfacewherein said reverse bends commence at breaks on said elongated bridgeportion which are spaced from the interior surface of the ring shank andsaid reverse bends comprise vertices joining an upwardly projecting legfrom each of said breaks to the downwardly projecting clampingextensions at an angle of at least 30.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,809,045 6/1931Kraft 6315.6 2,766,599 10/1956 Steffen 6315.6 2,770,112 11/1956 Butts63--15.6 2,966,048 12/1960 Gosev 6315.6

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

1. THE COMBINATION WITH THE SHANK OF A FINGER RING OF A SIZING DEVICECOMPRISING AN ELONGATED CONTINUOUS STRIP HAVING A CENTRAL BRIDGE PORTIONSPANNING THE APERTURE OF SAID SHANK, A REVERSE BEND AT EACH END OF SAIDBRIDGE PORTION, A CLAMPING EXTENSION BEYOND EACH OF SAID BENDS, AND ATAB ANGULARLY PROJECTING FROM EACH OF SAID EXTENSIONS, WHEREIN SAIDBENDS ARE ADJACENT THE